Dominican Republic and Costa Rica agree to enhance air connections
The Dominican Republic and Costa Rica agreed to strengthen the air connection between the two countries, as a way to promote tourism, Costa Rican Foreign Minister Rodolfo Solano said on Saturday at the conclusion of a visit to Santo Domingo.
Both countries signed an air services agreement that will make it easier for airlines to “expand their offer to consumers”, Solano told Efe.
This agreement was signed on Friday, in a day in which Solano met with his Dominican counterpart, Roberto Álvarez, and in which he was received by the Dominican president, Luis Abinader.
Solano said that there are two European airlines that have shown interest in operating routes to San José, with a stopover in Santo Domingo.
Last week, the Dominican airline RED announced that in the middle of the year it will begin flying to Costa Rica from the Dominican capital and, according to Solano, there is a second company that has also shown interest in operating this route.
Apart from tourism, the Costa Rican minister expressed his country’s interest in collaborating with the Dominican Republic in renewable energy and in the so-called “blue economy”, which encompasses economic projects related to the sustainable management of the oceans.
The flow of trade between the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica totals nearly 300 million dollars a year, a figure that is “not insignificant,” in the words of Solano.
The trade balance is clearly in favor of Costa Rica, since last year it exported 253 million dollars to the Caribbean country and accumulated imports of 47 million, according to Dominican statistics.